What Is Hope?

What is hope? Webster’s Dictionary defines hope as, “a desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.” But what happens when we don’t find our desire being fulfilled? The Bible puts it simply, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12a). As a parent of a child with special needs I have often felt that heart sick feeling over something that went unfulfilled when it came to my daughter. So where do we go from here? What do we do when we are living with a situation that may never change circumstantially for the better? How do we have hope in the midst of the storms of this life?

There is a second definition in Webster’s Dictionary which states that hope is, “someone on which hopes are centered” as in, “She is our hope for winning the game”. I would offer to you that it’s not about placing our hope in something but in someone. Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” According to this verse this kind of hope isn’t a hope that is fleeting. This is a hope that is firm and secure. An actual anchor for our souls. An anchor is something that tethers a ship to the bedrock of the seas so that it cannot be tossed around in the storms of the sea, set adrift, or dashed upon the rocks of the shoreline. This kind of hope that acts as an anchor for the soul is unshakable. We cannot find this kind of hope in wishes and things. We can only find this kind of unshakable hope when we place our trust in the unshakable source of that hope.

How Do We Find Hope? 

So how do we find unshakable hope? Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope.” God is our one true source of hope. A real and unshakable hope that anchors us in the storms of this life. He is our rock and our firm foundation and “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grown weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31). 

I want that kind of hope, don’t you? I want to know that no matter the circumstances of my life I have, not something, but someone firm and secure that I can trust and find my hope in. I am so very thankful that I have an unshakable God in whom I can trust, who watches over me, who strengthens me for the tasks ahead, and who will never leave me but instead will be right by my side through it all. This kind of hope is without a doubt a good thing, yes, the best of things.